Scattered Papers
by ChaseTheClouds
Summary: A bundle of one-shots about Noragami, featuring friendship, pairings, and other ideas Chapter 6: Ties were severed, many years before. (preview)
1. Teardrops

**Summary: What happened in that short, two paged moment at the end of Chapter 48. Yatori.**

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~oOo~ Teardrops ~oOo~

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Hiyori—Yato doesn't need to be there to know that something is wrong (since when has she become part of his conscience, he wonders). It is rude to leave so abruptly, but he does, leaving Kazuma confused; although it doesn't matter if she needs him, whether she likes it or not.

(She probably wouldn't like that.)

Yato descends, to the world Hiyori is in, to the school where she is. He climbs a tree as quickly as he can and jumps to the window sill of the hall Hiyori is. She's sitting with the wall at her back, knees drawn up, head bent. Yato can practically see tears slipping out of those purple eyes even though she isn't looking at him.

"Hiyori?"

When her head tilts to the window, hair falls over her eyes—but they are still visible.

"H-hey, what's wrong?"

Icy blue eyes meet glimmering purple eyes—

(Like so many times before, and yet this one is different.)

—And it all comes rushing back to Yato.

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HIyori is crying, and Yato can do nothing; the feeling of helplessness that is overwhelming him, a god, is suffocating. It feels like it is drowning him although his head has not gone completely under the surface. But there is one thought that is in his mind: Yato knows he has to help Hiyori.

How could he not, after all that's happened?

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_Hiyori had pushed him out of the way of the bus and been hit instead. _[Five second first meeting]

_The ritual to get rid of his blight and save Yukine and him; that had been because of Hiyori, almost every bit of it._ [Yukine was crying too, okay? It wasn't just him . . .]

_The Twitter messages sent back and forth—as well as all the times she hit him (and wanted to hit him) because of them_. [Can't believe she pulled that move on him, despite the fact that they both knew he was a god]

_Kicking the trashcan Yato was in and sending it rolling after giving him food and an umbrella for the rain._ [Note to self: stop hiding in trashcans, they are too easy to knock over and roll away, and too hard to get out once they're rolling]

_When he had the dream of Hiyori being his goddess and Yukine had yelled at him for being weird . . .again._ [Don't worry, this is a normal thing]

[This was probably one of the most insane things Yato had ever done; and he would do this again for the same reason if he had to] _Confronting Bishamon to get Hiyori back._

_Hiyori had promised she wouldn't forget him._

_She had given him his first shrine._

_She had figured out his real name._

_Hiyori saved him—_

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[many times before and maybe many times to come]

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Hiyori wonders if she is crazy.

(Who isn't, even just the slightest.)

She challenged Yato's father. Yes, maybe she is a little crazy; Hiyori acknowledges that. But she only came to terms with that fact because she met a certain god, a lazy, rambunctious god who hasn't even helped solve her minor problem of losing her body when she had paid him five yen already.

Life would not be the same if she hadn't met Yato.

She stands and stumbles forward towards him and places her hands against the window.

Hiyori can't help it.

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_She remembers the bus, the frog, and the piggyback ride_. [As well as the amazing kick]

_All those phone calls—some unsanswered, some answered, some blocked—the messages, the window break-in_. [Although it wasn't, really]

_Giving Yato his first shrine, teacher Yukine and putting up with the annoying noises being loudly cast around the room as Daikoku smashed Yato into the wall_. [Didn't think he would actually cry . . .]

_She remembers giving her umbrella and telling him she would never forget_. [Trashcans were fun to kick, as long as Yato was in there to start screaming]

_Yato landing on top of her from Yomi after she figured out his name—and later when he tried to hug her and Yukine semi-successfully. Hiyori remembers how relieved she had felt when he had returned._

_Hugging and crying after many more incidents, sleeping next to him . . ._

_The very fact that he could easily get her blood boiling._

[She regrets this] _Storming away after he had begged her to stay and tell him her problems—_

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—which she wants to now.

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If the window is not there, if it is not acting as a boundary, her hands would be touching Yato's. But the glass is there.

Icy blue eyes still hold the gaze of shimmering purple eyes.

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(Still wanting to help but unsure how) 

**Hello everyone! Starr here~**

**So I wrote this one-shot after I read Chapter 48—and had a very pleasant reaction . . .not. I wrote this because one of my friends *coughcough* was annoying me (the same friend who got me to read Noragami and basically ruined my life again).**

**I will try to update once a week, if possible. If I don't I will most likely tell you when to expect the next update.**

**Whaddya think about this one-shot? Review!**

**(Constructive criticism is helpful, reviews make someone happy, and then I might feel like updating faster~)**

_**Starr**_


	2. All About That Puppet Show

**Summary: Yato and Yukine have a job for a puppet show with unexpected consequences.**

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~oOo~ All about That Puppet Show ~oOo~

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"Hello!" Hiyori called when she arrived at Kofuku's house, after losing her body while trying to get some homework done while it seemed like nothing would bother her for a little bit. Which reminded her, how the heck was she even getting all of her work done? (She had no clue).

The pink-haired goddess of poverty turned her head and set down the cup of tea she had been holding. Then she broke into a grin, launching herself at Hiyori, her arms clamping around the other girl in a suffocating hug . . . not for the first nor the last time.

"Hiyorin!" Kofuku squealed giddily. Hiyori tried to respond, but found that she couldn't. It felt like the air had been driven out of her lungs. "Have some tea!"

"I—" she managed. Kofuku loosened her grip slightly. "Ummm . . ."

"Don't be shy, Hiyorin, have some tea!" Kofuku dragged her inside and firmly set Hiyori down on one side of the table. Daikoku poured some tea for her as Kofuku sat back down, opposite of Hiyori.

Hiyori glanced around for a quick moment before speaking. "Where's Yato and Yukine?"

"They're on a job," Daikoku replied. Hiyori nodded and took a sip of her tea.

"Mhm!" Kofuku had her chin propped up on her hands and was staring at Hiyori intensely. "Do you know what they're doing?"

Shaking her head, the girl gave Kofuku a quizzical look, wondering why she had brought up what Yato and Yukine were doing and why it mattered.

"A puppet show!"

"_A puppet show?!_" Hiyori almost spit tea in Kofuku's face. Instead, she swallowed hurriedly—wincing—and repeated herself to make sure she had heard correctly. "A puppet show?"

"Yep—" Kofuku was nodding her head happily "—Yatty was so excited."

Daikoku made a disparaging sound. "Yukine was not."

No matter how hard she tried, Hiyori could not imagine the Shinki going peacefully with such a job. "Did Yato have the capyper wizard puppet with him?"

"It was sticking out of his pocket. Maybe he was hoping it would start talking again? You know, since it was 'talking' when you used it to—"

"Okay!" Hiyori said loudly, quieting Kofuku quickly. She didn't want to think about the time she had used the capyper toy to make Yato feel better after her failure to make sure he didn't see the people wearing those costumes. It was never going to be one of her favorite moments.

"What?" Kofuku blinked. "Did I say something wrong?"

She looked from Hiyori—who was silent—to Daikoku—who was shaking his head. "You shouldn't talk about it, Kofuku."

Kofuku looked back at Hiyori—who was _not_ covering her ears to prevent the other two from seeing that they were _not_ flaming red. "Oh," Kofuku said. After a moment, Hiyori lowered her hands. (Okay, so she had been covering her ears, and they were still a bit red.)

"When do you think they'll be back?"

"It's not an Ayakashi-involved job, so maybe a few hours," Daikoku suggested. "They left at noon, so they should be back soon. Preferably in one piece."

There was another pause when all three of them had the sudden thought of Yukine destroying the capyper and any other puppets out of exasperation, and Yato wailing senselessly in the background.

"Yes," Hiyori nodded, snapping herself out of her daze. She lifted her cup to take another sip of tea.

"You know, I wouldn't be surprised," Kofuku suddenly announced. "You might need to spend a few more hours trying to make Yatty feel better, and you won't have the puppet as an option—"

"Wahhhhh!" Hiyori shouted, again almost choking since she nearly forgot to swallow, in order to quiet the goddess.

"Oh, sorry."

Daikoku was shaking his head again in a slightly amused manner, as if to remind himself that Kofuku wasn't always like this. "What did I say?"

"Right! Don't talk about it!"

Meanwhile, Hiyori was staring at her cup, asking herself if she would ever manage to have a sip without choking on it.

"You want to teach Yukine, right?" It took a few seconds before she registered that Daikoku was talking to her.

"Yep," Hiyori smiled. "He's learning quickly."

"I'm not surprised—although he must really know how to put up with Yato," Daikoku admitted. Hiyori's smile became strained, and she quickly dropped it.

"Kind of," she muttered. The last time she had spent time tutoring Yukine, Yato had been annoying throughout the entire lesson. Hiyori reluctantly took another sip of her tea, intending to swallow it quickly, at the exact same moment something slammed onto the floor of the house. She coughed, spitting the tea back out—fortunately into the cup. Once she put it down, Hiyori started coughing again.

"Hiyori!"

Something slammed into her and nearly knocked her over—which she was very glad it didn't. It was Yato. She pushed him and steadied herself before looking up. "Hii, how was the job?"

"Amazing! I got another five yen," he boasted. Hiyori looked at Yukine and saw that he seemed less than pleased about the whole thing. While Yato launched into a glorified explanation of what heppend on the job, Yukine sat down by the table without saying anything. When the explanation wound down to a close (and after Hiyori's tea nearly got spilled at least half a dozen times by the enormous hand gestures), a triumphant grin spread across his face. Hiyori was struck with the feeling that Yukine had probably gotten a nearly limitless supply of material to use to embarrass Yato in that single job alone.

"You should have seen Yato!" he burst out. The entire room went silent. "He was so excited by the entire thing—"

"_Of course I was!"_

"—he practically pranced all over the room before those kids came back into the classroom—"

"I did not!"

"—I thought that teacher nearly had a heart attack!" Yukine concluded his first sentence after causing Yato to make two indignant interjections.

"Why? Because of the prancing or because you two scared the teacher by appearing so suddenly?" Hiyori questioned.

"Both," Yukine replied, at the same time Yato said, "She did not! Neither!"

"You liar!" Yukine accused. "You know you did! You know you just could not _wait_ to make those poor kids believe that capypers exist!"

"They do exist!" Yato whined, pointlessly, because his Shinki was continuing by retelling the job far more truthfully than he did, although it still seemed a little biased. Actually, a lot biased.

"So we got crammed in that puny marionette, with Yato hogging most of the space while he tried to find that puppet, which he was so sure he lost, but managed to find it _somehow_. He was going to destroy that little box—"

"Was not," Yato muttered, loud enough for Yukine to hear.

"Yes, you were. And then _finally_ we got to do that puppet show—and can you believe it, Yato wouldn't tell me a _single, fucking, thing_; he had this weird idea like he always does to get those kids to believe in capypers—which I have already said!"

"So what?" shouted Yato, but Yukine went on, ignoring him.

"And so he just stuck the puppet out in front of the curtain for everyone to see and then he made it do some weird stuff that I am not even going to mention, and guess what?" Yukine paused dramatically. He inhaled, looking at the others expectantly.

"What?" Kofuku asked.

"_He pushed me out of the marionette_! The expression on his face—Yato seemed really happy for some reason, and he made the puppet go _this kid will tell you that we capypers are real_—"

"How did you even get the five yen if you did such a terrible job?" Daikoku mused. Yukine pretended he didn't hear him. Yato wasn't stupid enough to go pick a fight with Daikoku right there—Hiyori wasn't even sure he wanted to at that moment.

Hiyori lifted her cup to finish off her tea.

"Yukine kicked me!" Yato wailed. "He kicked me in front of them!"

Hiyori spit tea. "_What?!"_

"You deserved it, moron!" Yukine yelled. "Trying to influence the kids and dragging me onto some stupid job—"

"It was not stupid!" Yato howled. "Capypers are real! That puppet spoke to me, I'm telling you the truth!"

"But that doesn't mean you have to go around telling everyone else they're real whenever you get the chance!" Yukine pointed out. "You didn't even do a good job!"

"That's because you ruined it all!" pouted Yato as he glared daggers at the amber-eyed boy. "Don't kick me so hard—don't even kick me at all next time!"

"_What makes you think there will be a next time? Not as long as you keep clinging on to that stupid belief about capypers!_"

"It's not stupid!"

As Yato and Yukine argued, Kofuku and Daikoku were watching Hiyori worriedly. "Are you alright, Hiyorin?" asked Kofuku. Hiyori was still coughing, tears springing from her eyes.

"I'm fine," she managed, nodding.

"Great! Daikoku, give her some more tea!" Despite Hiyori's protests, Daikoku filled her cup again. She stared it blankly for a long moment, then tuned back into the loud conversation going on in front of them. It was only increasing in volume.

Kofuku gave her a look that asked _isn't this amusing_?

Hiyori shook her head hard.

"They are not real to you because you keep on acting like this," Yato said haughtily, complete with a scoff. Yukine rolled his eyes.

"So says the immature god who doesn't even act like a proper one," he shot back.

"_What do you mean?"_

"I mean what I meant."

Before Yato could shout another heated response, Hiyori interrupted. "Yato? Can I see the capyper?"

"What?" Yato's head snapped around. "Oh, sure."

He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to her. Looking at it, Hiyori couldn't help but think that it was in surprisingly good shape, considering what had happened in the past few hours.

"It looks the same, doesn't it?" Kofuku chirped, taking the capyper and making it twirl around the table. "So easy to believe that a few days ago Hiyori was just—"

"No!" Hiyori lunged across the table and snatched the toy back—knocking over her tea in the process. She quickly mopped it up with a towel, turning red as Yato looked at her strangely, no doubt curious why she had done that. Daikoku hit Kofuku over the head gently.

"Remember what I said?" he asked. Kofuku rubbed her head sheepishly.

"Oh. Sorry," she apologized.

"What?" Yato asked. Nobody replied, so he took the capyper back and waved it violently in the air. "Well, if that's all, I'm going up and I am going to make this thing talk to me again. And _you_—" he jabbed a finger in Yukine's direction accusingly "—you _will_ believe me."

"Never going to happen."

"_What was that_?"

"Nothing," Yukine said quickly. He turned to Hiyori. "Tell this moron it's not going to talk to him"

Hiyori blinked. "What?"

She swiveled around to look at Yato, whose blue eyes were begging her to tell him that it would speak to him. Hiyori almost took pity on him and lied, but she didn't, deciding that maybe she should tell him at least part of the truth. "Yato . . . it isn't going to speak to you. It's already told you what it needed to say, now it's gone on to tell other people."

"W-what do you mean?"

Kofuku interrupted Hiyori before she could reply. "She means she's trying not to tell you that it was her who used the puppet to convince you capypers were real!"

There was a long pause. Then:

"_Kofuku_!" Hiyori and Daikoku shouted, at different times, but for the same reasons.

"What?" Kofuku's eyes widened as she realized what she had done. "Hiyorin, I'm so sorry! I couldn't help it!"

While the three of them were in shock at the sudden blurting of the truth, Yato was a completely different story. He had turned pale before the words had completely registered their meaning to him. When he spoke, he spoke slowly and carefully. "Are you saying that you tricked me into thinking they were real?"

Hiyori shook her head rapidly, but Yato had collapsed onto the floor in hysterics. "_I'll never be able to meet one in real life! Whyyyyyyyyyyyy?"_

"No no no! That's not what I meant!" Hiyori shrieked frantically.

But Yato continued to wail, showing no sign that he even heard her.

It truly was a tragedy. Yato had realized that capypers were not real.

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"About time," Yukine muttered.

**Ohhh, Kofuku, you just had to blurt out the truth . . .**

**Hi everyone! I'd like to say **_**thank you**_** to those of you who reviewed/followed/that kind of stuff! This chapter was a little shorter than I had hoped it would be, but it took a long time to type . . . so maybe it was a good thing it was shorter? I don't know.**

**Chapter 49 came out this weekend~**

**(I read it today . . . and Chapter 50 comes out January 6th)**

**Destinies Entwined—sorry, I was sort of writing that chapter with the pictures on my phone that my friend sent me since I didn't have internet at the time. And yeah, grammar was never one of my strong points.**

**SilenceOfRain7—I thought so too XD yes Noragami is amazing O_O but too bad not a lot of people know about it . . .**

**yourworstnightma—you're not my worst nightmare because you keep taking my food . . . that's not even remotely scary . . . you're not even my worst nightmare . . . and geez, you are so lazy sometimes XD**

**So, what do you think about this one? Review~**

**_~Starr_**


	3. Of Money Problems

**Summary: Yukine's money goes missing again . . . and it won't take much to know who took it.**

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~oOo~ Of Money Problems ~oOo~

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"Where are you going?" Yukine asked. Yato paused, his foot resting on the top stair, having just been moving to walk down. He looked at the Shinki, who was looking up from the workbook he had been scribbling in quickly a moment before.

"Out," he replied vaguely, aware that his answer wasn't enough to satisfy Yukine—although he was probably also aware that Yukine knew full well what he meant.

"I'd rather not see what Hiyori does to you this time. Maybe she'll kick you out the window," Yukine said with a disinterested air. "Do I need to come?"

Yato shook his head. "No."

Yukine stared hard at Yato. For some reason, he had a nagging suspicion that something was going on. Unable to think of anything terrible enough for Yato to start speaking in sentence fragments, Yukine shrugged. "Okay, then."

He looked back at his paper, feigning studiousness. It wasn't too hard; all he had to do was pretend he was reading and then write something that barely made sense. Yato's steps receded as he walked away. Before long, Yukine glanced up to make sure he wasn't nearby.

Yukine had been waiting for a day like this for a while. He had been planning on spending some of his money for something he could actually _keep_ for himself, unlike all the other times—which was easier said than done. He went and pulled out the piggy bank that Kofuku had given him to replace the one that had been smashed a while ago.

Considering the fact that Yato had just left to bother Hiyori, Yukine supposed there would be enough time before he got back.

Hopefully.

Opening the bottom of the porcelain pig, Yukine shook it over the table. There was the sound of a coin or two rattling around inside, but nothing came out. Yukine frowned. He was sure he had more than two coins in the container. He shook it again. Again, he heard the rattling noise.

This time, something small fell out. It hit the table with a clink and wobbled around a little, coming to a stop some seconds later.

A twinkling five yen coin seemed to be mocking him as he stared at it in disbelief.

In the entire piggy bank, one _freaking_ coin fell out. Suspiciously, Yukine lifted it and looked inside to find that it was completely empty. Remembering Yato's odd behavior, Yukine's suspicion was confirmed.

That bastard cleaned out Yukine's entire piggy bank and decided to leave behind one coin? Yukine silently stewed angrily, glaring daggers at the spot Yato had occupied just moments before, as if imagining all the terrible things he would do to Yato if he got his hands on him.

It was a good thing Yato wasn't there. Yukine wouldn't have hesitated to make his life miserable. There was no doubt about it.

_One. Coin. _Out of _all the money he took_. Left only _one coin_. What could anyone do with only one five yen coin anyway, besides buying sweets or saving up?

"Are you kidding me?" Slamming the piggy bank down, Yukine nearly broke one of the pig's legs. There was a brief commotion downstairs and Daikoku's head was visible at the stairs.

"What's going on, Yukine?" Daikoku asked. Yukine picked up the five yen piece to show the older Shinki, with a pained look on his face.

"Yato took my money again! And all he left was this!"

"Yato took your money?" Daikoku repeated. "And you're saying this isn't the first time?"

"It's the second time," Yukine snapped. "Do you know where he went?"

Daikoku walked over and sat down across from Yukine. He thought for a moment and then slowly shook his head. "No, sorry . . . well, you could always try Hiyori's place."

"Hiyori's place?" Yukine blinked, not sure what Daikoku meant.

"Yato goes there often, so he's probably getting her something. He did say he was going there," Daikoku explained. Seeing the understanding on Yukine's face, he continued, "Either that, or he lied and he's going to come back here hoping you won't realize that he took your money. In that case, you should go to Hiyori's place for now and come back later if he doesn't show up there."

"Okay." Yukine had a grin of his own now, thinking of his revenge. "Thanks, Daikoku!"

He ran down the stairs, nearly knocking Kofuku over in his haste. With a muttered apology, Yukine vanished around the corner.

"Where's he going?" Kofuku asked, looking at Daikoku for an explanation. Daikoku gave a shrug.

"The normal reason, I guess," he said.

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"Yukine?" Hiyori's eyes were round with surprise when she opened the door of her house to see Yukine leaning on the wall, breathing heavily from his run. "What are you doing here?"

"Is Yato here?" Yukine replied to her question with his own. Hiyori gave him a strange look, like he had sprouted bunny ears and had started to prance around singing about carrots (honestly, Yukine didn't even want to think about that, now that his mind brought it up).

"No. Why?" She blinked at him with confusion.

"_Dammit_!" Yukine had the sudden urge to hit something, but he refrained himself. Now Yato could be anywhere, and Yukine wouldn't be able to find him. He looked at Hiyori's still confused expression. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," she replied, shifting to the side to let him in. "Why do you need to know where Yato is? Did something happen—did he go missing again?"

"Well, no, not exactly. But he's going to wish he were when I find him!" Yukine followed Hiyori to her room. "He took my money!"

"He took your money?" Hiyori repeated in the exact same tone that Daikoku had used when Yukine told him. Letting out a huff of indignation, Yukine nodded.

"He took the money that I had been saving up on. And guess what he left me?" Judging from Hiyori's expression, she didn't want to guess. "_One five yen coin_!"

"A coin?" A smile tugged at the corners of Hiyori's lips. "Sorry. Why would he take your money though? Doesn't he have his own?"

"He must be broke right now," Yukine sighed. "Daikoku thinks he might be getting you something."

Hiyori's face went pale as she mentally began to calculate all the times Yato had tried to do something "nice" but had failed in some strange and twisted manner. Only a few times he had actually succeeded, and right now it wasn't sounding like this time would be one of those successes. She exhaled slowly. "I guess we'll have to get your money back, huh?"

Nodding, a plan began to form in Yukine's mind. He looked around her room. "Is there anywhere I can hide in here?"

"Um . . . the closet, maybe?" She frowned. "What are you planning on—oh, I see."

Yukine gave the closet a doubtful glance, but he heard something scratch the window of her room. He bolted to the closet and did his best to make it seem like he wasn't there at all. Hiyori was giving him that funny look again, and he glared at her, trying to mentally pass a message. Yukine quickly gave up and said, irritably, "Hurry up and pretend I'm not here!"

She nodded and sat down at her desk. At the exact same moment she picked up the pencil that was by the small stack of papers, the window flew open and Yato came hurtling in.

"_Hiyori_!" he yelled. Hiyori whipped around, lost her body, and kicked him. "Oww!"

"Don't scare me like that!" she yelled back, kicking him again in the stomach. Yato doubled over and fell.

"I scared you?" Yato wheezed, rolling over onto his back, wincing. "That hurt, Hiyori!"

"Well, it should have! Haven't you ever heard of using the door?" she demanded.

"The window was easier," Yato replied in a pitiful tone. Hiyori, not falling for it, kicked him again and he went rolling, hitting the wall by the partially open closet door. Yukine tried not to move or breath as Yato got up excruciatingly slowly.

"Next time, use the door," Hiyori said firmly, eyes glittering dangerously. "Why are you here this time? Where's Yukine?"

"Yukine's studying," Yato answered, oblivious to the fact that Yukine was behind him, hidden in the closet, and watching. "I got you a present."

Hiyori's eyebrows flew up. "You did?" she asked incredulously.

"_Don't sound so surprised_! See? I really did get you something!" Yato held out a book for her to see. "A book about your favorite wrestler!"

"What—" Hiyori began.

Yato interrupted her. "It was the last copy so it's surprising I even got it, you know, and—"

"How did you pay for that?" Hiyori made it sound like she was trying to be considerate, but Yukine was pretty sure that wasn't the point of the question. Sure enough, Yato hesitated for a half second longer than someone who was telling the truth would have.

That was when Yukine leapt out of the closet—knocking over a lot of what as in there in the process—and bowled Yato over, the book falling out of his hands. "You bought that with my money, you moron, and you thought I wouldn't notice!"

"I used my own money!" Yato yelped. Yukine kicked him, harder than Hiyori had earlier while Yato continued to protest. "You don't even have any proof! I'm telling you, I used my own money! Owwwww! Stop it, Yukine!"

"I do have proof. The piggy bank was _empty_," Yukine hissed. "All you left was that coin. What can you even do with five yen?"

"You can save up—" This was punctuated by a strange squeal that sounded like a hamster.

"Which I already did before you decided to take some of it!"

"I used my own money, Yukine! Help, Hiyori!"

Hiyori looked from Yukine to Yato. Then she bent down to be eye-level to Yato and said, without sympathy, "I'm not helping. You got yourself into this mess."

Yato looked back at Yukine, wide-eyed. "Okay, okay! I used your money! But I already bought it for _Hiyori—_"

"That doesn't change anything!"

Gaze flicking between Yukine and Hiyori again, Yato picked the book back up. "I'm not going to return this, I'll just pay you back when I get the money."

"Return the book," Yukine stated firmly.

"But it's for Hiyori—"

"Then use your own money for it next time!"

~oOo~

**Aaaand this chapter nearly didn't get uploaded onto Doc Manager and I nearly had a mini-heart attack.**

**Uggghhhh . . . this chapter is shorter than what I expected it to be D: yeshhhh I feel terrible right now—it's freezing in this house and it took so long to type this and I think I'm getting a cold (again)—okay enough about me.**

**UM. So the next update might be a little late since my teachers seem to have been procrastinating and really want to test us this week before break, but there will be an update before or by Christmas. I hope. I'll try my best.**

**SilenceOfRain7—Yato and Yukine's relationship is just amusing now . . . :D**

**Shadowed Hunter—Ahahaha that sounded a little creepy at first for a split second. Well I haven't gone out and looked at stories for a while . . . and I'm also pretty sure that if my English final was on grammar I would flunk it—but it seems like it's on WWI? Um . . . history in English class. Strange.**


	4. A Christmas Tale (Part One)

**Summary: ****Hiyori is invited to spend Christmas Eve at Kofuku's house with her friends . . . little does she know that this is going to be very interesting.**

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~oOo~ A Christmas Tale (Part One) ~oOo~

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Hiyori was wandering aimlessly through the city streets when it began to snow. She did not even realize that until a cold snowflake landed on her nose. For a moment she froze, not sure what it was. A split-second later, Hiyori brushed it off and looked up to the dark sky, watching the next few snowflakes flutter through the air and come to a gentle landing on the ground. She might have stood there, in the middle of the sidewalk, even longer, but better sense abruptly prevailed, as it always did in moments like those.

Quickly, Hiyori began to head back to her house, mentally chiding herself for having walked so far away for no apparent reason. She wanted to get back before any number of centimeters of snow rose so she wouldn't have to trudge through it in order to get back. Her shoes would probably fall apart if she tried.

She unfolded her scarf from her pocket where she had shoved it and wrapped it around her neck. Turning a few corners, she promptly crashed into somebody who was half her height and was wearing a green jacket with the hood pulled over their head.

"Excuse me," she muttered before looking at the person. "Oh, hello, Yukine. What are you doing here?"

Yukine blinked at her with his luminous amber eyes. "We were looking for you."

"_We_?" Hiyori repeated. "Where's Yato?"

"He went that way," Yukine replied. He made a vague gesture in the general direction Hiyori had been going before she had bumped into Yukine. "Although he should be coming back soon."

Hiyori nodded slowly. "So . . . what were you two up to? Were you on a job or something?"

"Or something," was the response. "Yato should tell you. Only he can do that with as much enthusiasm as Kofuku, which is the only reason why Daikoku agreed in the first place."

"Yato must be pretty excited then," Hiyori commented. Yukine nodded with agreement, and then his expression turned unreadable. Hiyori didn't say anything, but sensed that something was going on that he wasn't willing to tell her about.

"Just . . . don't encourage him," Yukine mumbled, so quiet she almost missed what he had said. She gave him a quizzical look.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Yukine rapidly shook his head, his hood nearly falling off in the process. He reached up and tugged it back down by the fuzzy part, covering his hair before snow could get stuck in it.

"You'll see," he said shortly. "Is he anywhere behind me?"

Hiyori peered behind Yukine to see someone a few blocks away with suspicious blue hair and zero regard for crosswalks. She winced as the person nearly got hit by a bicyclist and as the person jumped over the considerably tall trashcan that was being dragged back to wherever it came from originally.

"Yes, he is," Hiyori sighed. "Moving in fast."

"Maybe he'll get hit by a bus?" Yukine suggested, then widened his eyes innocently when Hiyori cut an irritated glance at him. "What?"

"Don't even joke about that, Yukine." She frowned. "Besides, wouldn't the bus driver see him and stop so he wouldn't get hit?"

Yukine shrugged. "Then you'd be surprised." Hiyori's eyebrows crept upwards slowly. "Have you been hit by a bus?"

"Maybe," Yukine said unhelpfully. "If I did, it was Yato's fault."

She found that she had nothing to say about that. Hiyori looked back at Yato's growing figure as he neared the two of them. He was within earshot when Yukine decided to speak again. "That bastard."

"_Excuse me_?" Yato demanded so loudly a few people gave him a strange look—and would no doubt walk away forgetting they even saw him.

"I found Hiyori?" Yukine drew the sentence out, the end rising in a tone like a question, as if he was prompting Yato for something.

"I know," Yato replied. "I can tell. What did you tell her?"

"I decided to let you do the honors of having spasms," was the short response. Yato grinned, unaware that Yukine had meant it as an insult; either they or he had chosen to pretend he hadn't heard a word the Shinki had said, or he was faking that he didn't know it was an insult. Whatever it was, Yato proceeded to make a grand gesture that involved him waving his arms crazily. Hiyori had to admit that it did look like he was having a spasm. She stared at him blankly, not getting it.

"What?" she asked in confusion. Yato made an indignant sound before speaking.

"Guess what day it is!" he exclaimed happily. He had a zealous expression on his face, his icy blue eyes sparkling strangely, like it did every time he was excited in some way. Hiyori blinked at him uncertainly for a moment, not sure what he was getting at.

"Um, December twenty . . . fourth?" For some reason Yukine was shaking his head from where he stood, but Hiyori ignored him. "Why?"

"Today is Christmas Eve!" Yato's grin got even bigger, if that was possible. Hiyori gave him a blank look, thinking that if he was so excited about today, she wasn't too sure she wanted to know what he was going to be like the next day.

"And . . .?" Hiyori prompted. Behind Yato, Yukine had given up trying to send any messages by shaking his head and was now glaring hard at the back of the god's head, as if that would work even better.

"Kofuku wants to have a party so we can try to see Santa—"

"_First_ it's capypers, and now it's _Santa_?" Yukine burst out. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am!" Yato turned to his Shinki, clearly mortified that Yukine would dare question the existence of his beautiful capypers and of the jolly, fat old man who wore a red suit and a fluffy hat and rode a sleigh with reindeer pulling it and flew around the sky delivering presents to all the nice kids—which Yato was most definitely not, if Hiyori was being completely honest. He hadn't exactly been "nice" all year, although one could still say that was true and be correct, but despite the way he acted, Yato was not a child.

Hiyori had to press a hand over her mouth to suppress an amused smile and stifle her laugh. "So it's an overnight thing?"

"It is," Yukine said, as Yato was unable to act serious at the moment. "Kofuku said you should come, but you don't need to bring anything except for the money you owe her."

Hiyori kneed Yato in the stomach, remembering that incident with sudden clarity. "This is all your fault, Yato!"

"Agh! What? Why? Why me?" he wailed, earning more curious stares.

"I think she was just joking," Yukine added as an afterthought. Yato gave him a resentful glare.

"You could have said that _before_ she kneed me," he snapped. Yukine's response was cold and blunt and set Yato off in overdramatically unnecessary hysterics.

"You deserved it."

"That was mean, Yukine," Yato muttered, rubbing his eyes, trying to appear pitiful. The problem was, he succeeded a little too well. Hiyori shook her head in a way of reminding herself that this was normal.

"I should go," she said, interrupting the argument before it could escalate any further. "Before the snow gets too bad or my parents get worried."

"Okay," Yukine waved. "See you later, Hiyori!"

"_See you Hiyori_!" Yato yelled. Hiyori winced at the loudness.

"I'm right here," she snapped. "But, see you then, you two."

She waved as she left, her steps quick as she ran through the snowflakes that flitted through the air and piled up on the ground where at least half a centimeter had already settled. She blinked a few out of her eyes and off her eyelashes before her mind began to wander.

The fact that someone might have to do something about Yato's firm belief of certain things was nagging at her endlessly. Hiyori had a pretty good idea about who that someone would be if it ever got to needing to lie (or as she called it, being merciful) about that.

Well, shit, Hiyori was screwed.

"Ouch," Hiyori muttered. She had cut herself on the wrapping paper. Staring at the paper cut, Hiyori watched as the blood slowly began to come out. She wiped it on the cloth nearby and continued, paying the cut no attention.

There was a knock on her door as she put the last piece of tape on. Turning, Hiyori saw the door open to admit her mother. "What are you doing, Hiyori?"

"I'm wrapping gifts," she said, moving the one she had been working on away. Hiyori picked the tape up, set it on her desk, and looked back at her mother. "I'm going to stay at a friend's place overnight."

"Who is this friend? Do I know her?" Her mother had a suspicious look on her face like always did when Hiyori was going to someone's house or when she was being vague.

"Well, no," Hiyori admitted. "But her name is Kofuku and she's—ah—been a really good friend."

Hiyori wasn't lying, but she was not exactly sure how to describe her relationship with Kofuku. Suffocating hugs and greetings aside, as well as the fact Kofuku was the goddess of poverty, Hiyori was being as truthful as she could.

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay, then," her mother reluctantly agreed after a long moment of consideration. "Will you be having dinner there?"

"Um, yes?" Fortunately, her mother didn't pick up on the question mark at the end of her sentence. She nodded and left, closing the door softly behind her. When she was gone, Hiyori let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding the entire time. She glanced at the clock, then outside to see if it had stopped snowing.

Hiyori gathered the presents she had been wrapping and set them inside a bag. She stood and lifted it, then set it down to put on her coat. Heading down the stairs, Hiyori slipped on a pair of boots and was out the door.

"_Hiyorin_!"

Resigning herself to another hug, Hiyori took a breath before Kofuku's arms wrapped around her and crushed that very air out of her. "You came, Hiyorin!" Kofuku cheered, making Yato's mood from earlier that day seem pale in comparison.

"Yep, I did," Hiyori managed. The three words were hard enough to say; the task of inhaling so she wouldn't suffocate was even worse. She took a painful, shuddering breath and ground out two more words. "Let—go—"

"Oh! Sorry," Kofuku let go of Hiyori, and she fell onto the floor of the house in a crumpled heap. Taking deep breaths and massaging her ribs, Hiyori slowly pulled herself back onto her feet.

"Where are the others—" she began. Kofuku grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hall. "Wah!"

"This way!" Kofuku called, as if she wasn't right in front of the girl. She led her up the stairs to the room where Hiyori went so many times to tutor Yukine (and got interrupted just as many times by Yato).

"Everyone, Hiyori's here!" Kofuku announced. Yukine looked up from the workbook he had been studying, Daikoku nodded as a greeting, and went back to trying to get the lights to work, and Yato's head whipped around from the strange contraption he had been either working on or destroying, it was hard to tell.

"Hello," Yukine said at the same time Yato picked up his project by what seemed to be the top and brandished it once.

"Look at this, Hiyori!"

Hiyori put her bag down—which had surprisingly survived what had happened downstairs—and stepped closer to examine what Yato was holding. "What is this?"

"You don't know?" Yato asked, a hurt look flitting onto his face for a half second. Hiyori frowned and tilted her head to the side slightly, thinking.

"Well, it kind of looks like a wreath . . ." she said thoughtfully. "No, wait, it looks like—like—_is it a noose_?"

"It is!" Yato nodded. Hiyori looked at the rope again, and her eyes widened. Her guess had been right, and it _did_ look like a noose. It just had all sorts of festive decorations on it, including a few of the lights that he had undoubtedly taken from Daikoku and gotten to work.

"What are you going to use a noose for?" Hiyori wasn't sure that she wanted to know the response, but she was almost certain she knew what Yato would use the noose for.

"I'm going to _catch_ Santa," Yato cried triumphantly. Hiyori's jaw dropped and she looked at Yukine and Daikoku for confirmation that she really heard correctly. Yukine gave a half-helpless, half-disdainful shrug. Daikoku avoided her gaze and was instead immersed in a quiet conversation with Kofuku.

"C-catch Santa?" she repeated, not trusting her voice with a longer sentence.

"Yeah! I'm going to put cookies and milk here—" Yato pointed to the center of the room "—and while he's distracted, I'm going to lower the noose!"

He was talking quietly enough, but Yukine, who was closer than the other two, hit himself in the face with the workbook. "Good luck with that."

"Don't be so pessimistic!" Yato turned to him. "I _am_ going to catch Santa, you nonbeliever!"

"I never said that you weren't going to catch anything," Yukine said in a disinterested tone of voice. "I was just wishing you luck."

Satisfied that nobody was going to question the chances of catching Santa, Yato began to set everything up.

Amused, Hiyori went over to Yukine to look at the pages he was studying. "Do you need any help?" she asked. He looked at the page, then at her.

"Well . . ." Yukine paused. "Not . . . not really, but can you explain this?"

He pointed to a part on the page, and she nodded. "Sure."

Examining it for a short moment, Hiyori explained it carefully, trying not to confuse Yukine at the same time she was watching Daikoku scold Yato for nearly breaking one of the lights. Kofuku was trying to steal a cookie when she thought nobody was looking, but was unsuccessful as Yato stepped back and crashed into her. The two of them went sprawling, and Yato slammed into Yukine.

"_Yato_!" Yukine shouted. "Could you not be so clumsy?"

Yato gave his Shinki a grin. "Relax, Yukine, it's Christmas Eve. You shouldn't be studying like that in the corner. You should be enjoying yourself."

Yukine took the book from Hiyori's hands. "I was so close to understanding this!"

He shook it forcefully in front of Yato's face, unprepared for the god to pull it out of his loose grip and snap it shut. Shocked, Yukine watched as Yato threw it to the side, where it hit the wall on its spine, coming to a sudden stop.

"No studying," Yato said firmly. "Not today."

Yukine opened his mouth to say something, a possible rebuke, when Yato's gaze slipped behind him to see the bag that Hiyori had brought. "What's that, Hiyori?"

"That? Oh, presents." Hiyori was about to tell him to leave them alone where they were, but Yato ran over and tipped the bag over. When nothing came out, he turned it upside down and four boxes of various sizes and wrapping paper designs came tumbling out, landing in an unceremonious heap.

"Which one's mine?" Yato demanded. When Hiyori opened her mouth to scold him for not letting her complete her thought, Yukine made a remark.

"None of them. You're waiting for _Santa's_ gift, right? So Hiyori didn't get you anything."

"What? Impossible!" Yato glared at Yukine, who had picked up his book and was giving Yato a strange, suspicious look. Before Hiyori could say anything, Yukine flew at Yato and hit him in the head with a loud _thunk_ using the book. In an instant Daikoku towered over the two of them, pulling them apart.

"No fighting—what's wrong, Hiyori?" Daikoku asked suddenly, taking in Hiyori's wide-eyed, anguished expression. Then he glanced down at the floor and grimaced. "Sorry about that."

Daikoku had smashed each box so thoroughly that there was no way that anything in them had survived. There was an awkward silence, then Yato moved them to the side and gave Hiyori a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Hiyori. It's the thought that counts, isn't it?"

Hiyori nodded and smiled back weakly. "Yes, it is."

The next few hours were a blur, a whirlwind of laughs, jokes, and activity. Yukine got into another brief argument with Yato. This time all Daikoku did was shake his head and focus back on his work. At one point, Kofuku actually succeeded in stealing a cookie, and Yato didn't notice until she had broken it in half to share with Hiyori. Yukine went back to looking at his workbook in silence after a while.

After Yato had finished setting up his noose—er, decorative trap for Santa—he turned out the lights, much to Yukine's annoyance. The colorful ones Daikoku had set up offered a little respite to make up for the darkness, but it wasn't enough. Before long, Yukine gave up and announced he was going to sleep.

Hiyori hadn't mean to nod off, since she had promised Yato that she would stay up with im in his master plan attempt, but she did. It felt like a blink, except that she had gone to sleep to a very different atmosphere than what she had awoken to.

"_I caught you_!" someone shouted in the distance.

Hiyori's eyes shot open and she looked around, confused. Outside, the moon was at the height of its arc, which meant that it was probably midnight or so. There was a dark figure in the center of the room that seemed to be choking because of the noose Yato had set up. The person was trying to say something.

"Yato, let him go," she hissed. Yato's blue eyes reflected the moonlight as he looked at her with confusion.

"Why? I caught him!" Yato's voice had a note of delight and triumph in it.

"Let him go, or he's going to choke," Hiyori sighed. Reluctantly, Yato let go of the rope he was holding, and the person came crashing to the floor. Looking around, Kofuku and Yukine were also awake. A sudden thought occurred to Hiyori. "Wait—"

"Yato, I am going to get you for this," the person rasped.

No doubt everyone's eyes widened. It wasn't Santa Yato had caught. It was _Daikoku_.

~oOo~

**Dun dun dun!**

**Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the late(ish) update—but then again I warned you earlier . . . I don't feel like saying much today except that I'm going to publish the second part of this tomorrow! Happy Christmas Eve, people~ Prepare for Yatori fluff~ (hopefully, because I'm not sure how well I can write fluff)**

_**Starr**_


	5. A Christmas Tale (Part Two)

**Summary: A failed attempt to trap a possibly non-existent person is not the least interesting thing going on today. Yatori.**

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~oOo~ A Christmas Tale (Part Two) ~oOo~

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The lights were turned on, overpowering the colorful ones Daikoku had set up earlier. Hiyori watched as the said Shinki rubbed his neck where the noose had been only moments before. The overly decorated noose lay in the center of the circle that the five of them had formed moments after Yato had let Daikoku come slamming down onto the ground.

Hiyori found that it was a miracle that nobody had chewed Yato out yet. After all, what kind of person would set up a trap like that to catch Santa? Except she should not have been so surprised when Yato announced his plan. It was exactly the sort of thing he would have come up with. The type of crazy idea that would get him into serious trouble someday.

For the longest moment, none of them spoke.

It was Daikoku who eventually broke the silence, his voice low and threatening. "What were you thinking?"

As everyone watched, Yato gave a guilty start and kept his gaze firmly fixed on the noose. A short moment passed without him speaking. When he did finally say something, his tone was sheepish, as if he did not just almost strangle someone. "I wanted to catch Santa."

Daikoku glared at him some more. "Using a noose?"

"It's not my fault you decided to go for a walk in the middle of the night and got stuck there," Yato said defensively. Hiyori had to admit that there was some sense in what he said, but he shouldn't have worded it that way lest Daikoku gets even more agitated and decides to throw him out into the window and into the snow. That wouldn't make for a good way to start Christmas Day.

"Why would you set up a trap like that in the first place?" Daikoku demanded, hopefully choosing to ignore what Yato had said. The god shrugged.

"To catch Santa and prove he's real. Since you all insist on being nonbelievers," he replied. Hiyori and Kofuku exchanged an amused look as Yukine let out an exasperated sigh but remained silent as if to spare Yato from more trouble.

"You could have killed somebody," Daikoku snapped irritably.

"But I didn't," Yato said dismissively. Hiyori held her breath, almost certain that this was where Daikoku decided to chuck him away and not let him come back in. But he did nothing like that, at least for now.

"Would you have wanted to kill . . . Santa—" Daikoku said the name gingerly as if he had a hard time accepting the fact that Yato thought he was real "—if you had managed to catch him?"

"Well, no, I just really wanted to meet him," Yato mumbled.

Yukine's exasperated expression turned disdainful. "We could have just taken you to see one of those fake Santas that are everywhere."

"But that's not the real one," Yato pointed out.

"It's the next best thing, if you were seriously that determined to catch him. What were you going to do if you caught him?" Yukine snorted. "Make him give you more presents? I hate to break it to you, but most kids don't try to trap Santa."

"I wanted to meet him!" Yato said this like it would make everything better. He tore his gaze away from his noose to glare daggers at Yukine.

"By killing him? Great plan," Yukine retorted. "Apologize to Daikoku!"

Judging from Daikoku's expression, he wasn't quite ready to forget what had just happened. It wasn't everyday one almost got killed, and when it did happen, one would not be quick to forget it.

Yukine got to his feet, stepped behind Yato, and grabbed his shoulders. He pushed him down, hard, into a deep bow, Yato's forehead almost touching the floor. After a pause, Yato grudgingly apologized to Daikoku. "Sorry."

"Um." Daikoku looked from Yato to Kofuku, not sure how to react. Kofuku wasn't paying much attention though; Hiyori could tell by the look on her face, the look that indicated she was in deep thought. In other words, she offered no help for Daikoku, who turned back to Yato, still held in the bow that was probably starting to hurt.

"It's fine," Daikoku said abruptly. Yato didn't move: Yukine wasn't letting him up, still gripping him hard on the shoulders.

"Hey, Daikoku," Kofuku began, but was drowned out by the shout that came from Yato as Yukine pushed him down even further than necessary (especially after Daikoku had accepted his apology).

"Let go, Yukine!" Yato yelled. "It hurts!"

Yukine didn't, showing no sign that he even loosened his grip at all. He seemed to be contemplating whether or not what he was going to do next was worth his time. Whatever he decided, Yukine released Yato and stepped back. "You deserved it, trying to strangle somebody."

"I wasn't trying to strangle anybody," snapped Yato. "I didn't think I could lift anyone who got caught in it."

"Next time, think it through better!" Yukine paused, looking at Yato's devastated expression, then corrected himself. "Actually, don't do anything like that next time."

"Okay," Yato mumbled. Hiyori almost laughed at this, but yet another thing caught her attention. Kofuku was staring hard at Daikoku, like she was thinking furiously about how to word what she wanted to say. Glancing at Daikoku, Hiyori moved to cover Kofuku's mouth with her hand before she could blurt it out.

Hiyori was too late.

"Hey, Daikoku," Kofuku said again. She shifted out of the way and Hiyori nearly fell over when she met nothing but air. The others turned to look at the goddess.

"What is it?" Daikoku gave her an inquisitive look. Yato was just glad that Yukine was now distracted so he could at least take a breather before anything else interesting happened. Hiyori silently willed Kofuku to stop talking.

"Um." Kofuku's hand drifted up and she pointed hesitantly at her Shinki. Frowning slightly, she continued. "Why are you dressed like Santa?"

A deadly silence overtook the room.

Seeing Yato's slow realization, it wasn't too long until it dawned on Kofuku that she shouldn't have said anything. Yato stared at Daikoku as if he had only just noticed that he was indeed dressed like Santa. It was surprising that he didn't notice this sooner. The red hat and suit with white fluff, as well as the fake beard, kind of gave it away.

Hiyori looked at the bag he had dropped earlier, figuring that he had been trying to be nice to Yato in his own way. Then she saw the packages that were peeping out of it, half covered by the sack.

"Are those—" she started, but was interrupted by Yato.

"What are you pretending to be Santa?" Yato wailed, his eyes round with a strange, alien emotion. It looked much like a child who's candy had just been stolen—and Hiyori had seen that before, no thanks to the god who was currently trying not to start on more dramatic reactions.

"_I'm so sorry Daikoku_!" Kofuku shouted, her hands gripping her face tightly, her eyebrows shooting up and her eyes as wide as Yato's.

"Great," Yukine moaned. "Just what I needed. _Two_ gods like this."

"Not helping," Hiyori shot back, her hands on Kofuku's shoulders to keep her up and from burying her face in Hiyori's chest crying. That would be awkward. "Kofuku, calm down! It's okay! It's not as bad as you think it is!"

"But—but—but I ruined it! I said Daikoku was dressed up like Santa and Yatty didn't even realize until—I ruined it!" Kofuku locked gazes with Hiyori. "And now Yatty's like that! Because I gave it away!"

"If you're so upset because Yato didn't notice Daikoku was dressed like Santa until you said something, there's no point. He was going to notice anyway," Hiyori said in the most soothing tone she could muster. Unfortunately, she didn't think it was in any way effective on Kofuku.

Kofuku's eyes got even wider and tears began to spill out with abundance, but she made no move to wipe them. "But, Hiyorin . . . now Yatty knows that Santa isn't real!"

Hiyori clapped her hand over Kofuku's mouth. "Sh! I don't think he actually knows that!"

At Kofuku's confused glance, she elaborated. "All he knows is that Daikoku was dressed as Santa. That doesn't mean that Santa isn't real, it just means that Daikoku was trying to pretend he was Santa. Just . . . just keep pretending Santa is actually real for the sake of sparing Yato from more of . . ."

"Wait," Yato suddenly spoke, real words instead of whatever he had been blubbering to Daikoku and Yukine while Hiyori tried (and succeeded) to calm Kofuku down.

"What is it this time?" Yukine demanded angrily. "Do I need to do anything more to get you to _stop wailing_ so we can _sleep_?"

While Yukine said this, Hiyori fetched the plate of cookies from the trap. Luckily Daikoku had only spilled the milk instead of crushing the cookies, because if he had crushed them, she didn't know how she was going to reassure Kofuku that everything was alright—especially when it was painfully obvious that nothing was, in fact, alright. Kofuku accepted the plate and quickly bit into one of the cookies.

The brief, few seconds of peace, was not to last.

"_Did you say Santa is not real_?" Yato shouted. Kofuku choked on her cookie and bent over coughing. Hiyori looked from her to Yato.

"Um," she muttered, avoiding his gaze. "No?"

"You did," Yato accused. "You said Santa isn't real. Kofuku said so too. So Santa's not real? And why is Kofuku eating the cookies?"

"Hiyorin gave it to me," Kofuku held the plate up as if it were proof. "Do you want one? They're good!"

"No," was the crushing reply. Kofuku lowered the plate, a dejected look on her face. "So are you saying Santa isn't real? Is that true?"

"Of course it's true!" Yukine burst out. "There! I said it! Can I sleep now?"

"_He's not real_?!" Yato wailed, flopping down onto the ground in the very hysterics Hiyori had been hoping to avoid. Exchanging a helpless glance with Daikoku, she sighed.

"If you believe, he will be real," she said without thinking. Yukine gave her a look that said _are you kidding me_? Hiyori ignored him and went back to comforting Kofuku for a moment to see how Yato would react if she let him think it over a couple times.

"The cookies are good," Kofuku mumbled. "Why doesn't he want any?"

"I'm sure they're great cookies," Hiyori responded. The part she had been given earlier she hadn't eaten, being preoccupied with other things that were going on—others that were more energy and time consuming.

"So why doesn't he want any?" Kofuku repeated. Her eyes were downcast.

"Yato has other things to worry about," Hiyori explained. "Like whether or not Santa is real."

No reaction from Kofuku. That might have meant she forgot what had happened just moments before, or she had realized that it really was no big deal. Either way, that was good for Hiyori. Less to stress about.

As she came to this conclusion, Hiyori became aware of a strange sound behind her. Kofuku was looking in that direction, an amused light in her eyes. Curious, Hiyori turned to look . . . and mentally kicked herself.

Yukine was shaking Yato so violently Hiyori thought Yato wouldn't survive any longer, especially with the Shinki yelling at him so loudly Hiyori wondered how she hadn't noticed this earlier. How do you _not_ notice a screaming person? Reasons.

Hiyori watched as Daikoku separated the two again and scolded them for a short moment. They nodded when he was done, and Yukine headed back to his spot in the room to go back to studying.

Daikoku came over, clearly wanting to talk to Kofuku. Kofuku nudged Hiyori and gave her an encouraging look—why, Hiyori didn't have a clue at that moment. "Go talk to Yato. He'll need some cheering up."

Pushing Hiyori, she propelled her in Yato's direction with surprising strength. Hiyori almost kneed Yato again, but this time in the face.

"Sorry," Hiyori managed. She turned her back to the wall and sat down.

"That's fine," Yato replied dismissively. "Hiyori . . ."

"Yeah?" There was a brief silence, both of them sitting with their shoulders touching.

"When you said that if I believed, he would be real," Yato began slowly. "You were referring to when I told you a god needs to be believed in, in order to remain in existence."

Hiyori cast him a swift glance. "Maybe."

"Well . . ." His voice trailed off. Hiyori got a feeling that he was struggling to summon up the courage to say something, at the exact same time he was trying to find the right words. Briefly, she wondered what it was. A second later she dismissed the thought. Yato would tell her once he stopped mulling it over in his head, considering he finished anytime soon.

"Take your time," Hiyori said when he opened his mouth to say more. "I have all day—well, night. You have hours to decide what you're going to say."

Yato flushed with embarrassment. "I know what I'm going to say!"

"You didn't seem like it," Hiyori replied nonchalantly. "Hey, have you come up with nay way to solve my problem? You see—" she indicated her sleeping form that was halfway between where she was now and Kofuku "—this happened."

"Um," Yato tilted his head, his eyes focusing somewhere in the distance, not fully comprehending the world around him. "I haven't gotten around to it yet."

"I already paid you five yen!" Hiyori exclaimed indignantly. "Are you going to keep walking in circles and fancy shapes around the problem?

"Lord Tenjin suggested cutting your ties, remember?" Yato sighed. Hiyori raised an eyebrow at this.

"I already said no to that. Isn't there another way?" she asked.

"There probably is. I just don't know it yet," Yato shifted so he was leaning more on her shoulder than against the wall. Hiyori felt her face heat up and she deliberately turned her head in the opposite direction so Yato couldn't see.

_His scent . . . it's . . . nice . . ._

Hiyori's face burned even more. She tried to push that thought out of her mind, to no avail. Out of desperation, she gripped her head with both hands, oblivious to the fact she had hit Yato in the process, her eyes screwed shut.

Yato straightened to look at her. "Are you okay, Hiyori?"

"No!" Why was she still thinking about this? She opened her eyes after a moment . . . and she was sure her face was on fire. At least, her ears were.

_He's so close._

Yato's own face didn't seem to be any better, just as red as hers. In the distance, Yukine said something, but Hiyori didn't hear him. Her eyes were fixed on Yato's, and for what seemed to be forever, they sat staring at each other.

Then Hiyori realized Kofuku was standing nearby, holding something above their heads. When Kofuku saw that she had noticed, she spoke. "Look. Mistletoe."

Hiyori lifted her face up to see.

Kofuku wasn't lying.

She looked back at Yato, and then up again. "Kofuku—"

"You know what it means?" the goddess asked. Hiyori nodded; Yato seemed to be too preoccupied with trying to pretend he wasn't as red as she was to even move. When Kofuku spoke again, it was with a firm tone that expected absolute obedience. "So _kiss_."

And they did.

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"_My eyes_!" Yukine howled. "_Do I need to see this_?"

"Daikoku, get a picture of this!"

Daikoku's expression was clear: _why me?_ But he took a picture anyway. It would be interesting blackmail material later.

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"_Are you two done yet_?" shrieked the very embarrassed and horrified Yukine.

~oOo~

**BLLLEEEEAAARGHHHH**

**I typed this so fast O_O there may be a few typos . . . typos that my computer decided not to catch . . . but anyway, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!**

**I don't know about you, but I am going to rest right now. **_**Ugh, music is so tiring **_**(I shouldn't be saying that though since I like music . . .)**

**Constructive criticism? Ideas for future chapters? Review!**

**See you later—**

_**~Starr**_


	6. A Thought (Preview)

**Summary: Ties were severed, many years before. (preview)**

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~A Thought [Preview]~

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_Do you ever feel like you're forgetting something?_

_That you are missing a big piece of your life?_

_It's on the tip of your tongue, that missing piece, but you just can't seem to get a hand on it._

_You _know_ it's something big, something that matters to you, and yet why can't you remember it?_

_Everyone has these moments, many thankfully short._

_Iki Hiyori is no exception._

~oOo~

_It was many years ago . . . _

Footsteps echo in the empty city ally, the clear night sky above as a figure walks past a pile of crates. A sigh seems to sound all around the city as if something is relaxing after a long, tense moment. Wisps of clouds drift aimlessly around in the sky, occasionally covering the moon and blocking its light from reaching the surface.

"Yato."

The figure turns, electric blue eyes gleaming in the dark. "What is it, Yukine?"

Yukine shrugs, as if the gesture alone is supposed to explain what he wants to say. As expected, it does nothing of the sort. Although he knows this, Yukine does not speak.

Then the god notices who is behind the young boy. "Why are you here?"

Tilt of the head, widening of eyes, small grin. "Yukine brought me."

Yukine pretends not to notice the cutting glare that is sent his way and turns his head in the opposite direction.

_Many years ago, the ties were severed._

~oOo~

**Look at this! I updated!**

**Okay, I'm not really sure if this counts, but since I felt bad for not updating in general, I decided to post a preview of the next chapter—the idea I've been thinking over for a while now. Hopefully I can get it out by next next week. Sorry! School's been getting more hectic now, unfortunately, and my midterm finals were over a week ago so it seems like my teachers have decided we need more to keep our minds busy.**

**I should probably go work on that project (or two) I've been procrastinating on for three weeks now . . .**

_**~Starr**_


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